


Hell Money

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [67]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:53:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6896530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	Hell Money

"What do you think my body is worth, Scully?" Mulder asks, his tone light as he examines his reflection in the airport window. He turns sideways, sucks in his stomach and cheeks, and then lets them out as he subtly flexes his biceps. Almost none of the changes are visible underneath his suit, but he's amusing himself.

Scully sighs to herself, and refuses to look at Mulder. "I told you, the human body is worth a fortune," she says flatly, watching for the mad rush for taxis to calm down. 

"That's the inside. I'm talking about the outside," he clarifies, taking up a spot next to her and leaning against the wall. "What am I worth?"

She looks up at him, smirking. "You honestly expect me to answer that?"

He raises his eyebrows and chuckles. "I'm curious; and having a bout of low self esteem."

She seems to consider it for a moment, then shakes her head. "I'm not doing it," she says, and shifts her gaze to where people are rushing from the airport doors to waiting taxis. It's raining, and nearly half the airport seems to be in a hurry. She and Mulder are only returning from their case in San Francisco, and have more time to spare. They learned long ago that sometimes it's best to step aside and let others have first pick of the cabs. Hopefully then karma will be on their side when they're the ones in a rush.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," he proposes, nudging her with his elbow. He had begun calculating a rough number to tell her should she take the bait, but he had yet to find one that seemed high enough.

Scully shakes her head again, adjusting her position on the wall as the wind shifts and begins pelting them with the odd rain drop. "I'm fairly confident I know roughly what I'm worth inside and out," she says definitively. 

Mulder eyes her with admiration for a moment. She picks up her bag and starts slowly for the main pick up area. It has mostly cleared out and he has a feeling the conversation is making her uncomfortable enough that she's ready to head home. He watches her take a few steps before picking up his own bag and following her. He jogs a couple steps to catch up, always surprised how quickly her short legs can take her away from him. "Can I travel back in time and be raised for a little while by your parents?"

The statement is odd enough that she whips her head around, both amused and confused. "What?" she asks, raising her arm to flag the next taxi.

Mulder signals to the driver to pop the trunk and he deposits his and Scully's bags in there before climbing into the back seat after her. "Georgetown, please," he tells the driver. "I just think it would be nice to have some of that self confidence. As good as your parents seem to have been at developing it, my parents were just as good at crushing it."

Scully frowns at the depressing turn the conversation is in danger of taking. "I've seen your self confidence take some pretty big strides in the right direction sometimes, Mulder," she tells him, smiling out her window. 

"Are you calling me conceited?"

"Why would you jump to that conclusion?" she laughs. "I didn't. I took it as a compliment. As should you."

Mulder shrugs, undeterred. "Anyways, growing up as a Scully seems like a pretty good deal." He wants to continue the conversation, if only to keep from talking about the case they just finished. It was unfathomable to think people would participate in a lottery that was costing them not only body parts, but their lives. Scully almost always insists on shop talk when they share a taxi. It's impractical for them to share; he lives in the opposite direction as she does. So she rationalizes it by making the taxi like a mobile office. He imagines at any moment she'll turn the conversation to work.

"If you grew up a Scully, we'd be related. And siblings can't be partners," she comments idly, watching the city fly by her window.

"That's not all siblings can't be," he says to himself before he can stop it. 

"Pardon?" Scully asks, turning to him.

He hopes she doesn't notice the sudden flush in his cheeks. "I said you're right. Good thing we're not siblings," he lies.

She eyes him skeptically, but nods, returning her gaze to her window. "For the record," she sighs after a few minutes of silence. "I would never put a value on that kind of thing."

Mulder thinks about it, and then his face breaks into a wide grin. "Are you saying I'm priceless, Scully?"

She rolls her eyes so thoroughly he can see it in her reflection on the window. "There's that self-confidence, thriving despite adversity."

He laughs and turns to look out his own window, but not before seeing her smile reflected back at him.


End file.
